The Real Reason You Can't Sell

In the 20 or so years that I've been doing sales training, I've heard all kinds of reasons people say they "can't" sell, from "I'm really shy" to "I'm terrible on the phone" to "I'm just naturally bad at it!"

I'll be really honest with you: you'll always be able to think of a reason that you "can't" do something. And as one of my favourite quotes says, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right!"

It all comes down to the TFAR cycle

The TFAR cycle is the way that your thoughts create your feelings, which in turn lead to your actions, which create your results, which reinforce your thoughts. Sound a little abstract? Let's consider an example. Imagine that you absolutely hate picking up the phone. You have the thought, "Picking up the phone is scary. It leads to rejection. People don't want to hear from me anyway." This leads to the feeling of anxiety, stress, and fear.

Now, when you're in a state of anxiety, stress, and fear, what kinds of results do you think you're going to get from your sales call? Bad ones, of course! And when you get those bad results, that reinforces your thoughts about picking up the phone.

It's so easy to fall into a downward spiral with this ... but the good news is that the TFAR cycle works the opposite way too. If you have a positive thought, you'll have positive feelings, which lead to better actions, which lead to better results.

When you look at it that way...

... your "inability" to sell is actually extremely easy to fix. You just need to work on the trigger thought underlying the issue. There are different processes you can use to do this (I walk you through one in detail in Sasudi's Learning Zone*), but it comes down to breaking the association with the old, negative belief, and creating a new association with a positive belief.

So for instance, if you have always thought "I'm just too shy for sales," then you could think about times when actually, you haven't been too shy to talk about what you do or why it's great. The more you think about positive instances that counteract that negative belief, the weaker it will get, and the stronger your positive association will get, which will lead to better results ... which in turn will reinforce the positive association even more!

It's a really exciting process -- and once you've shifted those negative beliefs, you can do more with your sales (not to mention your life!) than you would have ever thought possible.

Whether you're a small business or a leading brand, an area manager or a Chief Executive, whether you're new to sales or an experienced sales professional. Even if you're not in sales at all but want to understand it, you've come to the right place.

The World of Sales is changing.

Today's conventional sales training doesn't address the psychological barriers that get in their way.

My approach takes your sales team through a process that:

* Helps them identify their psychological barriers and gives them the tools to overcome them* Teaches them how the mind works so they can keep motivated and stay focused* Gives them the ability to identify the psychological patterns of their clients and prospects so they connect with them at a deeper level and close more sales

And at a higher level...

* It creates more success in other areas of their lives so they are happier generally...and happier sales people generate more sales

Wherever you are on your personal sales journey what's the best course of action for YOU.

Patrice Henderson5/25/2016 11:26:38 PMIt's amazing how mindset truly is all we need to accomplish anything we want!

Leigh Ashton5/26/2016 4:47:49 AMThanks for sharing Sarfaraz and thanks for the comments Patrice

Surbhi Chopra7/27/2016 11:39:33 AMIt is great to learn about the TFAR cycle. It very simply explains that our mindset is the creator of our success or failure.

Leigh Ashton7/31/2016 7:02:11 AMThat's certainly true Surbhi and good to gain an understanding of and recognise one's own behavior. Leigh

Anthony Pappas, III8/11/2016 4:09:58 PMAfter 30 years of selling, really more when you think about all the selling that is done out side of the job, this is one problem I don't often suffer. However, I wish it had been available all those years ago and we will definitely share with the new hires and slumping sales people.

Leigh Ashton8/12/2016 6:49:03 AMThat's great Anthony, all the best, Leigh

Sally Isok10/26/2016 2:32:45 PMIn terms of selling i assume our primary tool is "mind". Mindset impacts everything and no matter what we owe ourselves positive thoughts. In order to achieve that positive state of mind and an attitude, i figured out for myself that i constantly need to be aware of my mindset and on a daily basis practice running positive thoughts through my mind until i get it as a habit.